Finding Yourself
by love.always.forever.1335
Summary: Mikey struggles between being himself and being respected by his brothers. He spends much time arguing with himself and trying to decide how important his relationship with his brothers really is to him. Will he choose his brothers or his personality? Rated T for expected violence in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

A/N:Okay, this is my first TMNT story. I know it's not the best, but I'm hoping to improve as i write more, which i will definitely be doing. So please enjoy!

-Adrianna

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Michelangelo stormed into his room. He was sick of the way his brothers treated him. Michelangelo sat on his floor and pressed his knees to his plastron. He remained in that position all night. No lights, no sound, except for the occasional sob that escaped Michelangelo's throat. He heard each of his brother's try to force him out by slamming against his door and yelling for him to come out; Raphael even threatened to go in and take him out by brute force. He had had it with their attitudes and sarcastic comments. He had never truly had their respect. That was all he craved, all he ever wanted. Instead, he was treated as a child. Technically, he was the youngest of the turtle brothers, but he wasn't that much younger. His brother's voices echoed in his head…

"Why don't you just grow up?"

"Mikey, please, I can't be bothered by your infantile games right now."

"We are ninjas, Mikey. And part of being a ninja is being silent."

Everything he did seemed to upset someone. Could he do anything right? He was starting think not. Even Master Splinter lately had seemed disappointed in Michelangelo.

He pressed his knees up against his plastron even tighter than before and cried some more. Raphael returned to his door, "Mikey, come out of there, you've been acting like a baby all night."

"Go away Raph, I wanna be alone." He sobbed as a single tear dropped down his face.

"Aw, is the little baby crying. I think it's time for the little turtles nap time." Raphael said in a very sarcastic voice.

Mikey shoved his head deeper into his knees and cried some more. He heard his eldest brother, Leonardo, say: "Cut it out Raph, give Mikey some time to chill. He will come out when he's ready."

Raphael scoffed, "Whatever, I don't even care." He walked away from Michelangelo's room and back to the couch to be with Leonardo and Donatello.

Days had started to pass by like seconds, and Michelangelo had not left his room. He hadn't eaten in weeks, except for the stored junk food he had hidden in his room, but he hadn't really dipped into that stash either. He wasn't patrolling with them or skateboarding or anything. Leonardo had begun to wonder if maybe they had been too hard on Mikey, after all he was just a kid.

After three weeks of solitude, Michelangelo decided that his brothers were right, he had been acting too much like a child and he needed to grow up. He stood up from his floor and grabbed the trash bin in the corner. He started throwing away everything that could be seen as childish. He threw away all his comic books, all of his action figures, his skateboard, his games, and anything else he saw. The only things left in his room were his bed and his weapons. He slowly opened the door and crept into the kitchen where the larger trash can was. He tried to move without being spotted, but all of his brothers were sitting on the couch watching TV as he passed by.

"Hey, Mikey, I was starting to think you were dead." Raph greeted him.

Michelangelo rolled his eyes, "if only" he muttered under his breath.

"Mikey, we're watching Space Heroes, wanna watch with us?" Leonardo invites him, even moving over making room for him to sit.

Michelangelo just shrugged, "Nah, Space Heroes is for babies. And besides, I have stuff to do." he retreated back to his room with the large trash can.

That seemed odd to Leonardo. He knew that it wasn't Mikey's favorite show, but he never turned down a chance to hang with his brothers. Leo stood up and went over to Mikey's room. He contemplated before knocking on the door, "Mikey, you in there?"

"What do you want Leo?" He growled.

"Ca-Can I come in?" He asked

"Whatever." Mikey said indifferently.

Leonardo slowly opened the door and went inside, by instinct he threw the lights on and the room lit up for the first time on weeks. "Do you wanna talk about something; I mean…you're acting kinda weird." Leonardo said slowly.

"It's nothing, I'm just growing up." Michelangelo didn't stop to look at him; he just continued to throw things in the trashcan.

"Listen, Mikey, I – I mean we, are all very sorry for the way we've treated you in the past."

"Save it Leo, I don't care. You all wanted me to grow up, so I'm growing up. No more video games, no more skateboarding, no more comic books." Mikey turned around for the first time since Leonardo came in the room.

"Just like that, you're giving up everything cold turkey?" Leo asked a little concerned.

"Yes." Mikey sighed, "Now leave me alone I have a lot of cleaning to do."

Leonardo left Michelangelo's room and returned to the couch with his brothers. Donatello turned the TV off, "So, what's going on with Mikey."

"He's growing up. He's in there throwing away everything that he loves…And it's all your fault Raph" for a change, Leonardo started the argument.

"Me…What did I do?" Raphael sounded confused.

"You're always teasing him and calling him a baby and telling him to grow up."

"I'm not the only one that tells him that! So do you and Donnie." Raphael stood up and pointed his finger at Leo.

Leo was about to retaliate, but he sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "I hate to say this, but you're right. We all caused this. And now we all have to go fix it." Leonardo stood up and signaled for Raphael and Donatello to follow him. They walked back over to Michelangelo's room and knocked on the door again.

"I told you to go away Leo," Mikey shouted from inside his room.

"It's not Leo, shell for brains," Raph felt a sharp elbow in his side, "I mean, Mikey. It's me, Raph…" He finished rubbing the side of his shell.

"What do you want Raph, I'm not in the mood."

"I was just hoping we could talk, you know. Turtle to turtle."

"Alright, you can come in" Mikey opened the door.

Raph pushed the door the rest of the way open and went inside, Leo and Donnie followed silently behind, "So what's up with the garbage cans, Mikey?" Raph asked

"Don't act like Leo didn't tell you, Raph. I know he did." Mikey said, turning around, catching sight of Leo and Donnie, "Turtle to turtle, huh?"

"Well, we think you just need some support right now. You are going through a tough time and we are here to help you through it." Leo stated ignoring Mikey's question.

"Nothing you do will change my mind."

"Why don't we order a pizza, sit down and talk it all out." Raph suggested, "Sound good Mikey?"

"There's nothing to talk about guys."

Donatello leaned in closer to Leonardo, "Wow he turned down pizza, there is definitely something wrong." He whispered.

Leo was about to speak but shut his mouth. A few moments later he said, "It's almost dusk Mikey, you gonna come out and patrol with us? We have missed you these past few weeks." Leo smiled at his younger brother

"Yeah right you missed me, I'm sure everything went much more smoothly without me."

Leo sighed, "Fine, we are going out; you are more than welcome to join us if you change your mind."

Leo motioned as Donatello and Raphael followed behind him and Mikey heard as they left the lair. Mikey was alone again. He sat down on the ground and seriously thought about if he really wanted to grow up or not.

After a while, Mikey left his room and roamed freely around the lair for the first time in weeks. He sat down on the couch and thought about what Leonardo said about joining them and was about to before Master Splinter stopped him.

"Michelangelo, it is nice to see you out of your room. What has been troubling you, my son?" he asked as he sat next to Mikey on the couch.

Michelangelo looked up for a moment, "Oh, hi sensei. It's nothing."

"A lie only leads to more lies, Michelangelo. Understand that by starting a lie, you are bound to continue a chain of lies."

"Sensei, can I do anything right?" Mikey slouched over and rested his elbows on his knees.

"Yes, Michelangelo, you can. You improve every day with your ninjutsu skills," Splinter reassured his son.

"My brothers always call me a baby and a child. They are always criticizing me about being different than them," Mikey complained.

"You are all different from each other. Leonardo does what he is told, Donatello works through intelligence, and Raphael is fueled by vengeance and rage. You, my son, go where the wind takes you. You are your own spirit. You have something that they do not, Michelangelo. Your brothers do not understand you because they are not like you. However, with time and perseverance, they will understand how your differences make you who you are." He placed a loving paw on Michelangelo's shell.

Mikey looked up at him and smiled, "I guess you're right sensei. Thanks." He hugged his teacher and father.

"Very well, now go and join your brothers." Splinter smiled.

Mikey stood up off the couch, "Hai sensei." He bowed in respect and left the lair to find his brothers.

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A/N: I hope you liked it, let me know if there is anything I can do to make this story better or to better capture the personalities of the characters. Feedback and reviews are always appreciated. Love you.

-Adrianna


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the nice reviews and favorites and follows and stuff! i totally appreciate it. So here is your reward. The next chapter of Finding Yourself. Enjoy.

And also, i forgot the disclaimer last time but it's pretty obvious that i have no affiliation with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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Mikey ran across the rooftops in search of his brothers. Jumping across the breaks between buildings didn't seem like much fun without them. However, he wasn't supposed to have fun anyways. Fun was for babies, and Michelangelo was no baby. He made his way across the city in the darkness of the night keeping an open eye for any and all of his brothers.

_If I were Leo, where would I be?_ Mikey asked himself. Suddenly it hit him. His brothers were on the skyscraper. Leo did his best observing from a high distance, and the top of the skyscraper was the highest point in town. Mikey jumped across to the skyscraper where he found his brothers peaked at the top.

"Hey, look who finally showed up," Raph smiled as Mikey perched himself on the corner of the building.

"Anything going on?" Mikey asked ignoring Raph's sarcastic comment.

Leo walked over to Mikey and rested his hand on Mikey's shell, "It seems pretty quiet tonight," he smiled, "but we still enjoy your company."

Mikey smiled slightly, which went undetected due to the dark shadows surrounding his face.

"It's almost too quiet," Raphael sneered, "There has to be some Foot Clan action somewhere."

"There's nothing, if there was anything going on in the Foot, my radar would detect it." Donnie added.

"Your radar couldn't detect the Foot if Shredder was standing right in front of you," Raphael smiled with satisfaction at his own rude comment.

"Shut up, Raph. It's not like you could make anything better," Leo interrupted.

Not long after, the three oldest brothers were having a full out argument on the rooftop. It was about to turn into a brutal fist fight, or ninja fight. Mikey, tired of all the bickering and shouting, whipped his kusarigama around all of his brothers.

"Enough," he shouted, "We are supposed to be on patrol, not arguing like children."

"You're right, Mikey, we are acting like children. Now let us loose so we can get back to work." Leo pleaded struggling under the strength of the chain. Mikey pulled his kusarigama back to himself and stored it away.

"Don't ever do that again, Mikey," Raph rubbed his arm around where the chains were pressed against him. Mikey jumped off the rooftop and dove to the ground. He ran off into the darkness of the city until his brothers could no longer see him.

"What's his problem?" Raph looked confused.

"I don't know, but I'm not sure I like it." Leo scowled as he headed off the skyscraper also. He, Raph, and Donnie ran in the direction of Mikey to try to hunt him down and bring him home.

Mikey sat down in a dark alley way. He felt sick to his stomach. He hated himself for the way he just treated his brothers. He had never been that assertive in his life, especially towards the ones who had helped raise him. It made him feel like a hole was forming in his stomach. Is this the way Leo always felt, because if it was, Leo gets serious props for not puking all day every day. Mikey contemplated going to find his brothers again, but he couldn't face them. They probably all wanted him dead for what he did. Raphael especially. He probably didn't take kindly to being chained. He retreated back to the lair swiftly and silently not to be seen by his brothers. Upon returning to the lair, he sat himself on the couch to cry himself to sleep. However, it was more crying and less sleeping.

Hours later, Leo had not yet given up the search for Mikey. They had looked everywhere and there was no sign of him anywhere in the city.

"Leo, we should just give it up. He probably went back home." Raph yawned through his words

"No, if Sensei finds out that we went home without him, we will be in so much trouble." Leo shuddered at the thought.

"Leo, face it. He isn't out here anymore; he probably went back to the lair hours ago. Besides, it's almost sunrise, people will be all over the city in less than an hour. We have to get back underground," Donatello put his hand on Leo's shell.

"He's just a kid guys, we can't leave him alone up here…" Leo started

"Mikey might not be the brightest turtle out there, but he isn't stupid enough to know he should be underground." Raph argued in Mikey's favor.

Leo sighed in defeat, "Alright, no one can tell sensei what happened tonight, understand?" he pointed to both of his brothers.

They gave their own sign of understanding and retreated back to the lair before the sun hit the sky. They came in to find Michelangelo asleep on the couch.

"Oh thank goodness" Leo signed in relief as he plopped on the sofa next to Mikey.

"You see Leo, he's been here all along," Donnie smiled at his older brother as he relaxed against the bottom of the sofa.

Raphael had already gone to his room to catch a few winks of sleep before sensei started a rigorous day of training. It wasn't long before Donatello and Leonardo passed out on the sofa as well. It had been a long night for each of the turtle brothers and all they wanted was a few peaceful hours of sleep. _Maybe Sensei would see how exhausted we all were and let us rest before training._ Leo thought before drifting into a deep sleep. The turtles were awoken not long after by an ear piercing gong that rang through the whole lair. _Or maybe not._ The turtles sprung to their feet and sluggishly made their way into the dojo to meet their sensei. Wiping the tired look off their faces, they lined up to greet Master Splinter.

Splinter walked into the dojo and stood in front of the tired boys, "Bobi no Kamae," he instructed.

The turtles, all too tired to even think about stances, slowly positioned themselves into the defensive posture their master had instructed.

Splinter was not one to miss a beat, and he certainly did not miss the pathetic way the turtles were preforming, "Leonardo, explain." Leo never missed a beat either.

"Our apologies sensei," he stepped forward to appear in front of all of his brothers, "We stayed out late last night, and actually just got home not too long ago." He bowed head and awaited the wrath of his father.

Splinter stoked his thin beard for a moment, "Was there an enemy that needed to be defeated." He asked

"No, Sensei," Leo said still in the formal position of utmost respect.

"Then, what is your excuse?" He inquired.

Leo thought for a moment. Did he want to tell Sensei about what happened last night on the rooftop? Not really. He didn't want to get Michelangelo into trouble. Mikey had enough on his plate as it was, he didn't need to explain anything to Sensei. Leonardo looked up, "I-I don't have one, Sensei." He returned to the bowed position resisting the urge to yawn.

"Very well then, if you will not talk I will assume nothing is wrong," Leo stepped back into line, "Now, Jumionji no kamae" he watched with little sympathy as the exhausted turtles struggled to complete their training. Splinter has a very long workout planned for the day and was not about to let the turtles take any breaks. "Shredder is still out there somewhere, and he won't rest until he has all of you and me as well." He constantly reminded his sons. He worried more for their life than he did their exhaustion.

After the training, more rigorous than any of the turtles thought it would be, all the boys left the dojo about ready to collapse on the floor. Michelangelo caught up with Leonardo before he went into his room, "Why didn't you tell on me back there?" He asked.

"I didn't wanna get you in trouble. I don't know what you're going through, Mikey, but I don't wanna make it worse for you." He placed a loving hand on Mikey's shoulder.

That feeling in his stomach came back. It was almost painful. He had learned to hate that feeling, "Leo, I'm sorry for what I did last night. I…I just don't know what came over me. I just lost control and it…I don't even know…" Mikey fell to his knees on the verge of tears.

Leo got down on one knee and comforted his brother, "It's okay Mikey, I forgive you. I'm sorry too. We were acting like children and I think you did the right thing. Maybe you would make a better leader than me," Leo smiled. Mikey's stomach did cartwheels in his body at the very idea. Having to feel this way all the time, no thanks. Besides, being the leader would be no fun at all. Leo never had time for fun. But Michelangelo wasn't supposed to have fun anyways. Fun was for kids. Leo never had fun, and nobody ever called him a child.

Michelangelo got up and thanked Leo before going over to Donnie's room. He knocked, "Hey, Donnie, are you awake?" He heard a muffled "no" from inside the room.

"Listen, I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have reacted that way." Mikey heard footsteps behind the door as it slowly opened up to reveal an exhausted Donatello.

"Wow Mikey, that has to be the first time you have ever sincerely apologized." He smiled, "Apology accepted. And I'm grateful for what you did." He leaned in closer to Mikey, "If you weren't there I'm sure Raph would had beat the snot outta me." He chuckled a little.

"Thanks, Donnie. Now go back to bed, you look really tired," he faked a smile.

"No problem, See you later Mikey." He said as he closed the door behind him.

Mikey thought for a moment. Did he really wanna do this? He stood outside Raph's bedroom door and contemplated all the horrible things Raph would do to him if he woke him up. He nervously swallowed his fear and knocked lightly on the door. "Hey Raph, are you up?"

"I am now, what do you want Mikey?" Raph stood up off his bed and opened the door. He leaned against the doorframe, "This better be important."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened last night. It was a stupid and reckless thing to do. You could have gotten hurt or worse." He twiddled his thumbs in embarrassment.

Raph stifled a yawn and put his hand on Mikey's shell, "Apology accepted. Now let me sleep." Raph smiled sincerely as he slammed the door in Mikey's face. As hurt as Mikey was about have the door slammed in his face, he felt much more content. He retreated to his own room turned on the light. He wasn't tired any more. Well, yes he was. But it wasn't his greatest concern at the moment. He sat on his bed and looked around his room. It was so empty. His act of adulthood had earned him the respect, or at least their appreciation. That felt great to him, but he couldn't help but feel that there was a hole burning in his chest. Michelangelo felt uncomfortable. The hole seemed to widen as he looked around his room. What was he missing? He had what he always wanted: the admiration of his brothers. He thought that was what he wanted. Was it? Or was he longing for something else?

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A/N: I hope you liked it, let me know if there is anything I can do to make this story better or to better capture the personalities of the characters. Feedback and reviews are always appreciated. Love you.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: thanks again for all the support this story has gotten. I hope you enjoy this chapter. And sorry for the short authors note.

I still don't own the turtles.

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Michelangelo had spent the good part of ten years trying to convince his brothers he was mature. And after all those years of hard work and dedication, he thought he had them convinced. They finally respected him. The following weeks brought many successful missions with them and Mikey had not screwed anything up. Mikey seemed to pay attention more. Leonardo was practically singing his praises for that he didn't have to the same plan four hundred times over. With this increased attention span, Mikey had also no time for bothering anyone. It had been days since Mikey had received any type of physical abuse from Raphael (Raph was thinking about hitting him just for old times' sake). Donnie had been able to work in his lab alone without ever worrying if Mikey would run in and make him drop everything. Everyone seemed to be doing better. Even Master Splinter had done less disciplining than he had ever done before. Everyone was happy. Everyone, except for Michelangelo.

With each passing day, Mikey felt more of his livelihood drifting away. He hadn't done anything fun since that night almost a month before. He would cry himself to sleep every night. Mikey loved the self-esteem boost he had gotten from his brothers. Now, they all want to be on his team. Okay, so maybe not willingly, but they hate it less than they had previously. Instead of constantly being insulted and brought down he was complemented and practically praised. But that wasn't enough. He was still missing a vital part of who he was.

The trash bin containing all of his possessions was still sitting in the corner of his room, just sitting there collecting dust. Mikey constantly found himself staring at it. "No," he told himself, "You are too old for that stuff now." Mikey was very good at faking a smile. He put one on every time Leo would try to be funny, or when Raph was getting in trouble, or when something blew up in Donnie's face (both metaphorically and literally). He wanted to make sure his brothers didn't see how unhappy he was. How unhappy they had made him. And so, he pretended to think things were funny when really, Mikey didn't even know the meaning of the word anymore. He would have long and complex conversations with his brothers using words he didn't even know were in his vocabulary. It's like a mature Michelangelo had been in there all the time, just drowned out by pizza and video games. He hadn't eaten a bite of pizza since he had given up everything. No one had seen his skateboard. Some would say he was turning into Leo. He became all work and no play. He spent hours in the dojo training and practicing his form. He aimed for perfection, or at least that's what he told his brothers. The reality of the matter was that he couldn't be tempted with all the things he wants so badly to do: To play video games, to eat pizza, to annoy his brothers. God, at this point even watching a three day marathon of Space Heroes with Leo sounded good. But no video games, no pizza, no brothers, and no marathon. There was only work.

Raphael became concerned with Mikey's behavior. He stopped Mikey in the lair one day, "Hey, Mikey, can I talk to you?" he asked

"Sure thing Raph," he faked a smile and followed Raph into his room.

Raph closed the door behind them and switched on the light. He offered Mikey his cushion chair to sit in as he took a seat on his bed, "Mikey, what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you're not acting like yourself. You're acting like Leo." He scoffed, "And I don't particularly like Leo."

"Listen Raph, I'm not trying to pretend to be Leo. I'm just growing up." He shrugged his shoulders.

"You're still on that growing up thing! It's been weeks Mikey," Raph said in a slightly raised voice.

"It's been good weeks, Raph. No one has yelled at me, or called me names, or talked about me like I wasn't there. Even you haven't hit me that much." Mikey explained

"Mikey, you're the little brother. No matter how hard you try you can't change that. So yeah, you're the kid of the group. And no matter what you do, I'm gonna call you a kid." Raph smiled at his little brother.

"I don't wanna be the kid, Raph. I wanna be respected and appreciated," Mikey lied. He wasn't about to give Raph the satisfaction of feeling he had figured out something that Mikey figured out long ago.

"I do respect you, sometimes. I respect that you don't care what anyone thinks of you. I also respect that you respect me. And I know that Leo and Donnie feel the same way," Raph sighed, "We just want our little brother back."

Mikey was almost in tears, was this how they really felt about him? Had he really been respected this whole time? It's highly unlikely. "I'm sorry Raph, this is me now. So you guys are just gonna have to deal with it," It killed Mikey to say that out loud. It was all a lie.

"Whatever, Mikey. Just do me a favor and don't work too hard," Raph stood up and escorted Mikey out of his room. After being banished from Raph's room, Mikey was adopted by Donnie.

"Hey, Mikey. How's it going?" His older brother smiled at him.

"It's going good I guess. What's up with you?" Mikey sat down on the couch next to Donnie.

"I'm just getting ready to play some video games. You wanna play?" Mikey fought with himself. He wanted so badly to grab the lonely controller sitting on the ground. He stared at it. He could practically see the tiny dust particles falling onto it. The controller was covered with pizza grease and Mikey's fingerprints. He could practically feel the sweet coating of grease in his hands. He let a small smile purse his lips. He was about to reach out for it when he was brought back to his senses. His smile vanished and not long after it was replaced with a pout. He gulped fighting back a sob as he leaned back against the couch.

"Nah, I think I'll just watch." He crossed his arms and rested them on his plastron.

Donnie looked at him, "Are you sure? I would be a lot of fun if you played." He begged.

"Maybe next game." Mikey felt horrible. It was as if he were physically hurting Donnie. How could he look straight into Donnie's eyes and hurt him like this?

Donnie sighed, "Will you at least stay here with me. I miss your company Mikey. You spend way too much time in your room."

Mikey heart practically broke into two. He could hear the sadness in Donnie's voice, "Sure, I'm not going anywhere."

Donnie finished setting up the console and grabbed his controller from off the sofa, "Thanks, Mikey." He smiled as the television screen lit up.

Mikey just sat and watched as Donnie's character was practically demolished by the computer. He stared intently at the screen. _Up, down, up, up, right_,Mikey thought as he saw the perfect moment to redeem Donnie's avatar. Unfortunately, Donatello was no mind reader. The code Donnie chose was one Mikey would have never chosen in a million years. Only moments later, the screen flashed the dreaded "YOU LOSE" text. Mikey stared back down to the controller sitting on the floor. Donnie noticed Mikey's fixation on the untouched controller, "You wanna play this time?" Mikey wished to nod his head, but something stopped him. A smell all too familiar to the young turtle filled the lair. He turned his head to see Leo passing through the turnstile holding two boxes of pizza.

"Pizza's here," Leo's chipper voice announced.

Mikey smiled. He hadn't had pizza in weeks. His stomach growled demanding the cheesy meal. Mikey refused. He darted up and over the sofa and out of the lair. He couldn't handle it. If Mikey were in his right senses, he would have considered that to be the perfect day. It wasn't every day that he had a heart felt conversation with Raph, played video games with Donnie, and eaten pizza with his brothers. That almost never happened. But it was all a big hoax. They were all trying to change him.

Back at the lair, Leo and Donnie looked at each other in confusion.

"What did I do?" Leo asked. Donnie shrugged in response. Leo grabbed his katanas and placed them in their holders, "We have to go after him." Donnie nodded as he grabbed his bō staff and attached it to his shell (not without showing off first). Leo ran over to Raph's room, "Raph, we are leaving."

"Is it dusk already?" Raph asked.

"No, Mikey ran away. We gotta go after him."

Raph grabbed his sai and kicked the door down, "Well what are we waiting for?" The three turtles dashed out of the lair.

Mikey had hidden deep in the sewers. It was still day time. He couldn't just surface from the sewers while New York City was at its busiest. He looked at his reflection in the murky sewer water. He could barely recognize himself. His green color grew darker every day. It was starting to resemble that of Raphael. He was so ashamed of what he had become. A small sob escaped his throat, followed by a larger one, and soon, the sewer echoed with Michelangelo's sadness.

Raph, Leo, and Donnie had split up to search for Mikey. Raph had been assigned the North side of the sewers, Leo the West, and Donnie the East. If he was in none of those places, they would search the much larger South side together. Leo heard an odd sound deep in the sewer. "Hello, Mikey?" he shouted. No reply. He walked towards the sound. A few yards in front of him, he saw Mikey's figure silhouetted by darkness. He deciphered that Mikey had been crying. "Mikey, what's wrong." He asked rushing over to his brother's side. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. You didn't do anything wrong, Leo."

"Then let's go back home. We can talk about this somewhere that isn't so dark." He helped Mikey up off the ground.

"Thanks," Mikey smiled wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"Anytime." He wrapped his hand around Mikey's shared and they walked home.

"Mikey, I'm serious. I wanna know what's going on, right now." Leo sat him down on his bed and stood above him.

"I'm sorry Leo. I just want to be respected."

Leo knelt down in front of Mikey, "I do respect you Mikey. I have always respected you." He placed a loving hand on Mikey's leg, "Just because I sometimes get mad at you or call you names doesn't mean I love you any less." He smiled, "It's just part of being a big brother."

Mikey retracted from Leo's touch, "I don't like it Leo. Did you ever think that maybe it hurts my feelings."

"I'm sorry Mikey. I didn't know it bothered you so much. I'll lay off. We all will."

Mikey smiled, "And you don't care if I have fun?"

"Not at all. I actually like it. It's been really boring without you for these past few weeks." He walked over to the trashcan in the corner of Mikey's room and grabbed his skateboard, "So, you gonna board with us tonight?" he asked throwing the skateboard at Mikey. He caught it and stepped on it. He smiled his first authentic smile in what felt like forever. The feel of the wooden board below his feet felt so natural. He missed the feeling so much. He flipped the board up and caught it in his hands.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Mikey smiled, "Now let's go grab some of that pizza, I'm starving."

"Now that's the Mikey I know," he said as Mikey jumped over him and into the kitchen. He opened the box and practically swallowed the first piece whole. It was so satisfying. He had to have more; this time savoring every bite.

When the other turtle brothers returned, one whole pizza had been devoured.

"Hey Leo, thanks for totally bailing on us," Raph's harsh voice resonated throughout the lair. Leo and Mikey had been playing video games for hours now. Leo had almost forgotten that he left his brothers out in the sewers.

"Sorry guys, we were having so much fun. I guess I forgot." He blushed a little.

Fun. Mikey's favorite word. The one he hadn't used in so many days now the only word he knew how to say.

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A/N: I hope you guys liked it. Feedback is always appreciated and i love hearing from you guys. It literally makes my day. There will be a short epilogue to kinda sum up what happens next. It won't take me too long to write so expect that very soon. Love you guys.


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